The Wedding
by gubernaculum
Summary: Jack and Ianto are getting married. (Ninth installment of a series)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter note: Right off the bat, I feel I need to explain something. I've been reading TW fanfiction for years and, in my own opinion, the wedding of Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness has been done and redone, ad nauseam. I was extremely hesitant to write this story because of that. So, I've put my own spin on the wedding theme by actually skipping the wedding itself. I feel the need to explain that up front because if that's what you're looking for here, you're not going to find it. Like my story, "The Holiday," this is nothing more than an interlude piece that is meant for nothing more than character development and some fluff and more angst than I intended :).

It was a crisp Sunday in Cardiff, the mid-morning air was still chilly even though they were well into May. Doctor Miranda Ryan parked her car on the small street across from a lovely mid-terrace house. She knew exactly which door she needed, its stained glass sparkled in the sun. The tall plants on either side of the doorway were still wrapped in their protective burlap. Through the front windows, Miranda could see the house's occupants were at home. She inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders.

She took her Torchwood issue side arm out of her purse and tossed it into the car's glove box. She opened the driver's door and got out of the car and then took her coat out of the back. She settled it over her shoulders and ensured the flap that concealed her sword was well closed before shouldering her purse and striding across the road. She looked far more confident than she felt. Once again, she inhaled, slowly exhaled and rolled her shoulders as she climbed the stairs to the door, distracting herself with admiring the stained glass. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she rang the bell twice and waited. She heard the muffled shouting inside the house.

"Steven! Get the door!" a woman shouted.

"I'm busy, Mum!" a cracking adolescent voice answered.

"You can pause your game and answer the door!"

There was the sound of stomping feet and the door flew open revealing a boy in his early teens.

"Yeah?" he said, a slight attitude to his voice.

"Hello," Miranda said brightly. The young man was nearly her height. "You must be Steven. Is your Mum home?"

"Steven? Who's at the…" the boy's mother said trailed off as she caught sight of the woman standing in her doorway. Her hair was short and dark with a slight wave to it. Her hazel eyes went wide with surprise and then narrowed with suspicion. Miranda took in the face, the slightly square jaw and the long nose. It had been many years since Miranda had last laid eyes on Melissa Moretti.

_Alice Carter_, Miranda told herself firmly before she spoke. _Still Jack's spitting image…_ "Alice. You're looking well. May I come in?"

Alice still eyed her suspiciously but Miranda could see curiosity there as well. "Steven? You can go back to your game."

"Mum-" the boy protested.

"Now, Steven," Alice said flatly.

The boy, so reluctant to abandon his video game, was now reluctant to return to it and leave what he could tell was a juicy situation. He looked between the two adults, then obeyed. Alice led Miranda into the kitchen.

"Why don't you sit down? Tea?" she asked, stiffly.

"Yes, thank you," Miranda said. She took off her coat, rolling it around her concealed sword in such a way that she could lay it over a stool next to the counter. She sat down on the stool next to it and spoke softly.

"You still take milk and honey?" Alice asked, not looking up from her chore.

"Yes," Miranda said, surprised she remembered. She looked around the kitchen and then down at the counter. "You have a lovely home, Alice. My apologies for the unannounced visit."

Alice lifted her head and then, at the top of her lungs, shouted out of the kitchen, _"STOP EAVESDROPPING STEVEN!" _

Miranda heard the stomping feet and the slam of a door. She suppressed a grin.

"I'm used to it with Dad," she said, a little bitterly.

"You're the spitting image of your father," she said with a smile.

"You always say that," Alice said with a little shake of her head as she put the mug of tea down in front of Miranda. She stared straight into Miranda's eyes and said in an accusatory tone, "What are you doing here, Auntie Mei-Mei? Dad wants something doesn't he?"

"Your father doesn't know I'm here," Miranda said, quietly. She reached into her purse and pulled out the deep burgundy envelope. She slid it across the counter towards the other woman.

Alice picked it up, turning it over in her hands. With her brow furrowed in curiosity, she slid her finger under the flap to open it. She pulled out the piece of thick parchment, mounted on heavy burgundy paper and embossed with gold. Miranda swallowed as she watched Alice read the elaborate calligraphy.

"Married? Dad's getting married?!" Alice exclaimed in a hushed whisper. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped slightly.

"For the past seven years, your father has been involved with a man named Ianto Jones-"

"I know," Alice interrupted, snapping a bit. A flash of embarrassment came across Alice's face as Miranda gave her a stern look. Alice had never met Ianto. Her father had asked a few times about bringing Ianto round to meet her and Steven. Alice hadn't thought it was a good idea. She'd arranged a few dinners but she always changed her mind. She'd been glad when he'd finally stopped asking about it. She didn't need her father bringing around his boy toy, someone who could shine a bright spotlight on her father's lack of aging. She already looked older than him.

With a level tone, Miranda continued, "Ifan… Ianto rather, proposed a few months ago. It's to be a wedding service followed by dinner at a restaurant on the quay. It's a small celebration, just Ianto's family and the team. They didn't want a big to-do."

Alice's shock increased. "Didn't want a big to-do? Dad?!"

"I was as surprised as you are," Miranda said with a smile. Jack did love showing off. "Both of them would like for you and Steven to be there."

Suspicion narrowed Alice's eyes again. "You said Dad doesn't know you're here. If he wants me to be there, why didn't he come and give me this himself? Or just send it in the post?"

"Do you want the truth of that, Alice?" Miranda asked, lifting her chin.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, almost defiant.

_And that is the end of my tether… _"He told Ianto that he didn't want to trouble you. But Ianto and I know the truth of it. Your father is convinced you won't come and it would break his heart for him to ask only to have you refuse or back out at the last minute. So, he felt the best solution all around was to not even try."

Alice leaned back as if Miranda had slapped her and responded with more petulance. "So I'm supposed to stand there and play happy family while he marries someone half my age?"

"Firstly, young lady, Ianto Jones is not 'half your age'," she snapped and Alice looked away, tossing the invitation onto the counter. "Secondly, no one is asking you to play happy family, just be civil at someone's wedding and thirdly, your father and I can't exactly marry people our own age."

"Oh yes, you and him and your lovely little immortality club-" Alice said sarcastically.

Miranda brought her hand down on the counter hard enough to get Alice's attention but not loud enough for Steven to hear upstairs. She put a chill in her voice, the tone and cadence changing to something more archaic as it always did when she was truly angry. "You will drop that insolent tone, girl. Do not speak of things you cannot possibly comprehend. You should be grateful for what your mortality gives you."

"Says the woman who will never look a day over thirty."

"Says the woman who has buried a husband, two wives, a son, four grandchildren, and more friends and lovers than you can possibly count," Miranda snapped and shook her head. "You may be your father's image but you are your mother's daughter - vain."

Alice lifted her chin defiantly in an expression so reminiscent of her father. "Mum always said you were jealous of her and Dad - that she was just filler, warming Dad's bed until you could find a way to climb back in."

"I was never jealous of your mother, Alice," Miranda said, a bit defensive herself. Miranda gazed across the room at the old drawings littering Alice's fridge. "No, I'm wrong. I was jealous of her."

Alice looked at Miranda, smug and triumphant and Miranda decided to wipe that look right off her face.

Admitting an uncomfortable truth, she said, bitterly, "I was jealous that she could give your father you."

Alice's face immediately fell. She looked down into her mug, almost ashamed.

"But now I see the way you break your father's heart and I thank all the Gods and Goddesses above and below that I cannot bear children." She stood up and placed both of her hands onto the counter. "The day I buried my son was the worst of my life. On the day your father stands over your grave, it will shatter his heart but that is not in your control. The way you wound him now, you do so deliberately."

"He's dangerous-" Alice began.

"That is your mother talking," she said, interrupting her. She stabbed at the envelope with her finger. "You're a grown woman. Act like one. Use your own mind."

"You think I should go," she said, a statement, not a question. There was still defiance in her tone.

"Whether you come to this wedding or not is your decision. As is how you behave in whatever you decide," Miranda said. "I'll not have you show up with this chip on your shoulder, only to spoil your father's happiness nor will I allow you to use a refusal of this covert invitation as a way to wound him."

Alice didn't answer Miranda, she sat there, her arms folded across her chest. The posture reminded her strongly of Jack.

"As woefully obtuse as your father," Miranda said with a shake of her head. "You're a mother. Put yourself in your father's place. If Steven were shutting you from his life so much, that you didn't dare invite him if you remarried?"

"Dad is dangerous-" Alice repeated and again, Miranda interrupted. Alice was parroting her mother's rhetoric and Miranda had had enough.

"What have you seen of him that is dangerous? Does he mistreat you or his grandson?" she snapped, her voice rising dangerously loud. She lowered it and said sternly, "Yes, Torchwood is dangerous and, yes, your father is Torchwood but so was your mother. You will listen to me plainly, Alice, because what I tell you now your father would never forgive me for revealing. But I see it is the only way." She saw the curiosity light in Alice's eyes.

She continued, "A mere week before your mother spirited you away, you were all a happy family. Then, your father died saving the entire Torchwood team, including your mother. He was burned alive and hauled back to the Hub a mere smoldering torso. An agonising day later, he gasped back to life. Your mother saw what many see when they are confronted with our undisguised immortality. She saw something unnatural. She saw something she couldn't understand so she reacted as every human being has reacted to the unknown since the dawn of humankind - with fear. She took you and fled. Your father went home to find an empty house and nothing but a letter. I read that evil hearted piece of paper. She called your father a thing, an aberration, a perversion and a host of other terrible things. Your father wanted to look for you but your mother told him to stay away… and even though it broke his heart, he did as she asked. And he's done as you have asked - he has stayed away.

"You hold your mother on too high a pedestal. She was a woman with flaws and faults like any other. You parrot her. You call your father dangerous. I came through the door and you assumed that your father wanted something. And why is that? Perhaps it is because the conditions and boundaries you set on him that it is the only time he may call upon you. He'd be here every day if you allowed it. But no, you sit here and declare a man you scarcely know as dangerous."

Alice opened her mouth to speak but Miranda raised a hand to silence her.

"His immortality will eventually be noticed by Steven, yes. And, yes, if you decide to reveal what Jack is to him, it will be a difficult conversation. But there are many difficult conversations to be had with your son about life - sex, drugs and death. Telling him that his uncle is his un-aging immortal grandfather isn't a typical subject, but you will handle it as all parents do. You will do your best."

Alice was silent for a long while. She stared at the invitation, reading and rereading it. Suddenly, her eyebrows shot up and she said, "This is next week!"

Miranda nodded. "Yes, it is. Ianto and I were quite conflicted about your invitation. We delayed a long time."

Ianto and Miranda had had many circular debates on inviting Alice and about whether or not to tell Jack. Their concern was only Jack's welfare. In the end, Miranda had decided this covert invitation the best solution. Ianto had wanted to come with her but Miranda had been firm. She was glad she'd held her ground. There was a great deal of history here that Ianto was not aware of and Alice would not want to speak freely in front of him.

"He didn't think I'd go?" she asked, softly. There was hurt in her voice.

"No, he didn't," Miranda said.

Alice ran her finger along the edge of the invitation. "I need to think about this Auntie."

"And that, I believe, is the core of my argument," Miranda said, disappointed. She started to put on her coat. "Your father loves you unconditionally. There was never any question when he attended your wedding."

Alice looked at Miranda with alarm. "I told him not to come! I didn't want to explain him to Joe."

"So he said," Miranda said, very angry. "I managed to remain a part of my son's entire life in superstitious Imperial China. I was an honoured guest at his wedding. I was midwife to my daughter-in-law and pulled my own grandchildren into this world. Those are some of the most precious moments in my life. You could have come up with a dozen different stories to explain Jack. But no. You forced him to watch his only child, his only daughter get married from across the street…" She adjusted the collar on her coat. "On your wedding night did you find the unopened rose buds on your bed?"

Alice's eyes went wide. "We thought the hotel had done that! That was Dad?!"

"It's a tradition on his world. The unopened bloom signifies the potential of the relationship to blossom into great beauty, the possibility to bear fruit." Miranda remembered how much trouble Jack had gone through for that little display. She glared at Alice with contempt. "Your father shows love for his own daughter in secret, as if he must be ashamed. _That_ is your doing." She pushed the invitation towards her. "There's no need to reply. Either show up, or don't. I'll see myself out."


	2. Chapter 2

Miranda walked from the garage to the main area of the Hub, feeling the tight pressure in her head form as she walked. As always, not wanting to assume it was Ianto she felt, she put her hand into her coat, wrapping it around the hilt of her sword. It was still her day off and she walked through the Hub, waving politely at Gwen and Jack. She saw Ianto poke his head out of Jack's office door. He too was assuring it was his friend and teacher he was sensing. Once he caught sight of her, he disappeared again as she went down the north stairs to her own rooms. She'd barely settled her coat onto its hook when there was a soft knock at her door. It was Ianto.

She opened the door and let him inside. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It was technically his day off too but Miranda could smell the strong scent of coffee coming off the man. Someone had probably asked him to put on a pot. It was difficult for the three immortals to separate themselves from work since they all lived in the Hub. Miranda at least had her own rooms to retreat to but the bunker was cramped. Ianto shed his suit and donned more casual clothing when off duty but was nearly always asked to make coffee or retrieve something from the archives. Everyone knew he didn't mind. He'd rather make coffee and go down into the archives than risk anyone else misfiling something or touching the coffee machine.

At home as much in Miranda's rooms as his own bunker, Ianto crossed over to the fridge and took out a beer for himself. He twisted the top off, threw it away and then settled himself onto Miranda's sofa.

"How'd it go?" he asked and then took a long pull off the bottle.

"As expected," Miranda said.

"Do you think she'll come?"

"I don't know, Ifan," Miranda said.

"Jack's going to be furious with us," he said, putting his feet up on her coffee table.

"If he finds out we invited her and she doesn't come, yes, he will be. If she comes and behaves like the petulant child I just spoke with, it will wound him and yes, he will be furious with us," she said with a sigh.

She poured herself a glass of water and sat down on the sofa next to him.

"All she's heard is her mother's side of things. I don't think she's ever tried to hear Jack's," Miranda said, shaking her head sadly.

"You knew her mother?" Ianto asked, sipping from his beer.

"Lucia? Oh yes… I never knew what Jack saw in her," Miranda said, rolling her eyes. "I thought he was merely bedding a pretty face, but he truly loved her."

"Jack hasn't told me anything. I only know what I've read in her files," he said. Ianto crossed his ankles and leaned back.

"Jack dislikes to speak ill against the mother of his child," she said, pulling a face. She put her water glass down on the coffee table.

"You didn't like her?"

"No, I did not. Vain, jealous woman. Jack made the ridiculous mistake of telling her the truth about us and Lucia did not react well. She constantly accused Jack of infidelity with me. It grew tiresome."

Ianto winced a bit.

"As you know, Jack is always careful in his affairs with women to avoid fathering children," Miranda said, toeing off her shoes. She put her feet up next to Ianto's. "It has long been my belief that Alice's conception was not the accident Lucia made it out to be."

"Nice," Ianto said with an eye roll.

"My issues with Lucia extended beyond the personal. She was completely incapable of separating work from her personal life. Her and Jack's domestics continually spilled over into work as did her dislike of me," Miranda said with a sigh. "She did not like me spending time around her daughter."

"Does Alice know the truth about you?" Ianto asked.

"She does, all of it. It was not a pleasant discussion. After she graduated university, Alice sought out Jack on her own, against her mother's wishes. It was when Jack and I revealed the truth to her. She saw it as more proof that her mother's suspicions of Jack's infidelity with me must be the truth because apparently immortality is the only thing one needs in common for a successful relationship," Miranda said with a sarcastic eye roll. "I'm going to change."

Miranda had dressed smartly for her visit to Alice and the clothing was uncomfortable. She stood up and walked into her bedroom. Ianto followed her, leaning his shoulder against the door frame, watching her open the dresser drawers. He folded his arms across his chest and crossed his legs at the ankles.

Ianto said, staring down at his feet, "You know, you and I haven't talked about this yet."

"Talked about what, Ifan?" Miranda asked, absently, not looking up. She took out her favourite pair of jeans and a tattered jumper that looked to Ianto as if it had been handmade. She started unbuttoning her blouse and untucking it from her skirt.

Just as she was unbuttoning the cuffs, Ianto said quietly, "I'm marrying your husband."

"Goddess below, Ifan!" she cried. Her eyes went wide and her eyebrows shot up. She stopped undressing and gaped at him. "I've never had a problem with you and Jack. By the Gods, why would I now?!"

"Because now I'm marrying him," Ianto repeated. "I'm taking this to the next level."

"A piece of paper presented to you by the government," Miranda said. She shrugged out of her blouse and tossed it into the hamper. "Methos and I were married by joining hands and walking through a doorway. I understand the importance of the ritual and symbolism but, in my eyes, you and Jack have been married for quite some time."

"And now we're making vows to each other," he said, digging at the rug with his socked toe. "The same vows you made."

She tugged the tattered jumper over her head and slid her arms through the sleeves as Ianto watched on. She was about to unzip her skirt, still not understanding. Not looking up from the hook clasp, she said, "I do not understand you, Ifan, so why don't you try to speak a little more plainly?"

Ianto sighed. "I can't help but feel like I'm taking him from you… stepping on your toes… whatever you want to call it."

"I can't imagine why you feel that way, Ifan. Yes, I stood before God and vowed to love and honour Jack all the days of my life. And I have done so. I took him as husband but that is not the nature of what we share now."

Ianto looked back down at his feet. "When we thought you were dead, after Max and the Nepanthians, Jack told me about your final arrangements. You still think of Jack as your husband."

With a sigh, Miranda unzipped her skirt and took it off, tossing it into the hamper on top of the blouse. She tugged on the jeans and then turned to give Ianto her full attention.

"And I still consider Methos my husband. Does that make me guilty of bigamy?" Miranda asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Explaining how she viewed the relationships in her life was a complicated thing.

"He's your ex-husband, Mandy," Ianto said.

"No, Ifan. Methos is my husband. Immortality changes how you define things in your life, especially romantic relationships. You must find your own definitions, your own way of looking at things. Mortals look at marriage and commitment as a set of circumstances surrounding a period of time with someone else - the modern need to label. You're 'dating'. You're 'exclusive'. You're 'married'. When you take time and death out of the equation, things become, for lack of a better word, complicated." Miranda crossed her arms over her chest. "To me, a spouse is someone you love wholeheartedly. It is someone with whom you share a deep connection to, mind, heart and body, who you cannot imagine your life without. That is what Jack and Methos are to me but that has nothing to do with the 'logistics' of those relationships. Right now, Methos is with Duncan but that doesn't diminish my feelings for him nor does it change his feelings for me. So why would I think you marrying Jack would change things there?"

"I feel like I'm displacing you a bit," he said with a shrug. He spoke slowly, a bit embarrassed. "In the beginning, I was a bit jealous of you and Jack. You're both immortal. There's a lot of history between you two and sometimes… sometimes I felt like it wasn't something I could compete with."

"And now you're immortal. You forget that I knew you would join the Game from the moment I met you," she said, gently. "You've never displaced me, Ifan and you certainly have never had to compete with me. It has always made me happier than I can tell you that Jack has found someone who complements him far better than I ever could. Jack and I… we're too similar," she said with a smile that quirked a bit. "I have fully expected our physical interaction to cease-"

"The sex isn't the issue, Mandy," Ianto interrupted. "Jack and I have discussed it. You're welcome in our bed whenever you want."

"Something else is still troubling you, then?" Miranda asked.

He didn't quite know how to explain what he was thinking. He'd been trying to loop around his real concern, to better see how she defined her own relationships so maybe he could understand where his was going better. He asked, quietly, "What happened with you and Adam?"

And then the lightbulb went off over Miranda's head. She sat down on the bench at the end of the bed. The root of the question and his concern was not about her and Methos or even her feelings about his marriage to Jack.

"Ifan, you and Jack are you and Jack. Do not use my relationship with Methos as any kind of standard for relationships between immortals. In fact, I think it would be disastrous for you to do so. What binds us together and what drives us apart are… unique. It is steeped in a complicated history. I will not lie to you and say that being together for centuries or millennia is easy but I have seen immortals have happy relationships with each other that have lasted for centuries. They have all found their own way and so will you and Jack."

Miranda got up and put her hand on Ianto's arm. "'If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.' Take the advice of Lao Tzu, my friend. We are immortals of the Game. For us, the past can become a vast deep ocean full of blackness and cold depths that will swallow us with despair. And the future extends on endlessly before us, full of more possibility than any mortal can imagine. For us, the anxiety and despair can expand into the infinite. The now is what is important."

Ianto walked over to her, hugging her tightly. He started to walk her back towards the bed. Miranda felt the change in his body language.

"Ifan…"

"You said to live in the now," he said, playfully. He tugged at her jumper, teasing the skin underneath.

She had no delusions about the reasons for Jack and Ianto's numerous invitations to their bed. They'd been extending them ever since her break up with Nora Ashline. It was only after Ianto's first death, after their relationship had settled from that jolt, that she had begun to accept those invitations… and she disliked being their pity fuck. Sometimes there wasn't even sex. One or both of the men would come into her rooms just to sleep.

She admitted to herself that she'd been weak for allowing any of it - the sex or the sleep. At first, she'd found the closeness comforting. Now, it was merely an escape, like a drug addict injecting heroin. It felt good but, like any drug, after a while you no longer indulged to make yourself feel good, but to keep yourself from feeling bad. And, like any drug, the effect always wore off, becoming less and less effective with time. The two of them were the couple and Miranda was the outsider. The sex was incredible. The sleep was more peaceful. But it was time for it to end. She berated herself for even allowing it to start because, like any illicit drug, it was a very, very hard thing to give up.

"You're getting married, Ifan," Miranda said, sternly.

"Well, I'd like to have my stag night early," he said and then took his comm unit out of his pocket. "I could call Jack down."

_This is the last time…_ she swore to herself. Miranda turned the comm unit on and switched it to Jack and Ianto's private channel. She placed it on the bedside table.

"How long do you think before he comes down here on his own? Ten minutes?" she asked.

"Five," Ianto said, pushing her onto the bed with a laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Ianto was idly turning the pages of a magazine while he manned the Tourist Office. Most of the time the office was shut and locked but during the summer months, Ianto tried to keep it open as regularly as possible. He enjoyed it, actually, as a break from the aliens and other insanity of Torchwood. So when the door opened and the bell rang, Ianto smiled genuinely and closed his magazine, saying, "Can I help you…?"

His eyes went wide and both his eyebrows shot upwards. The woman in front of him was a female version of Jack Harkness. She had the same jawline and long nose, a slight upturn at the tip. She had the same dark hair, though hers was slightly curled. The line of the brow was the same but the eyes were hazel, not blue.

"Ianto Jones?" she asked.

"You must be Alice Carter," Ianto said, extending his hand. He gave her a friendly smile that was not returned. "It's good to finally meet you."

Alice shook the his hand and said, "I wish I could say I've heard about you from Dad but I'd be lying."

"Jack has mentioned you in passing," Ianto said. He knew things between Jack and his daughter were strained but he hadn't realised quite how badly until this very moment. He looked over his shoulder at the CCTV camera and said, "How about we go for a bit of a walk?"

Alice nodded and Ianto hurried around the counter to open the door for her but she didn't wait for the chivalrous gesture. The two of them stepped out onto the quay, Ianto locking the door behind them.

"Auntie Mei-Mei stopped by yesterday with your invitation," Alice said. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

She may have said they were in order but she didn't seem to be offering any so Ianto ignored the second half of her statement and the slightly sarcastic tone that went with it.

"I know, she said you were going to think about it," Ianto said, putting his hands into his pockets as he walked. "I told her to tell you that you didn't have to reply. I certainly wasn't expecting one in person-"

"I haven't decided yet," Alice said. "I wanted to meet you first."

Ianto raised an eyebrow, not really understanding how meeting him would sway her choice and he said so.

"My Mum always told me that my father's a dangerous man, that trouble follows him where ever he goes and that if I got mixed up with him that no good could come of it," Alice said. Ianto saw what Miranda meant. She was saying the words like a recitation, like she'd repeated them over and over again. "Auntie Mei-Mei said I should stop parroting my Mum and think for myself. My Mum taught me that you can judge the character of a man by the company he keeps. Dad's marrying you so here I am to see what kind of company he keeps and to think for myself. So, why are you marrying him?"

"I love him," he replied, instantaneously. He tried to keep his tone light, to ease the tension between them. "I would have thought that'd be obvious."

"And what about when he leaves you when you're old and grey for the next young thing that takes his fancy?" Alice asked.

Ianto stopped walking and turned to Alice. He took a step back and opened his coat, revealing the longsword concealed inside. "I'm not going to be getting old and grey."

Alice took a step back away from the weapon. There was so much contempt in her voice. "You're immortal like Auntie Mei-Mei."

Ianto nodded, securing the flap inside his coat. "I wasn't like this when I met your father. I didn't know about any of it until I died and woke up seven months ago. Torchwood is a dangerous job."

"Mum always said," Alice said to herself. "You know my father better than I do. Do you think he's dangerous?"

Ianto looked down at his feet. He scraped at the ground with his shoe and then kicked a pebble. He remembered what he'd said so many years ago, '_You like to think you're a hero but you're the biggest monster of all…' _

"Depends on how you look at it really. We're all dangerous when you think on it. The danger each one of us is to someone else varies. People think when you become immortal that you just forget about all the things that can hurt you when in reality you become more aware of it. Not the physical things, I don't worry about drunk drivers or my cholesterol anymore… but I worry about the things that can hurt here," Ianto said, tapping his chest and then his head, "or here because those kinds of hurts can last a lifetime and a lifetime for me just took on a whole new meaning. And I guess if you look at it that way, Jack's very dangerous to me because he can shatter them both. Betrayal rarely comes from an enemy. In an enemy you expect it. It blindsides us from those we love."

He turned around and leaned against the railing, crossing his arms over his chest. "I can promise you that Jack would never want to hurt you or his grandson intentionally. You have to define what you think danger is, Alice, what kind of harm you think Jack will do to you and your son and you have to determine if that's acceptable to you. I'm not the best judge of that."

Alice was looking at him, a small crease between her eyes. Ianto nearly wanted to laugh at how like Jack she looked at that moment. "You're not what I expected. At all."

"Well, I'm not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing," Ianto said with a smile and a shrug.

"Neither do I," she admitted, smiling herself for the first time. "This is all… so very 'Dad'."

Ianto winced at the way she said that, like she was turning Jack into some sort of bizarre adjective and not in the affectionately teasing way that the team did it. He'd been trying to keep this conversation civil but Alice was talking about the man he loved with contempt and that angered him.

"I'm not going to stand here, Alice, and say that I know how you feel or that I understand because I don't," Ianto said, trying to keep his cool. "The idea of becoming your step-father is a bit ridiculous since you're older than I am but I hope that friends isn't outside the realm of possibility."

"I haven't decided anything yet, Ianto," Alice said, shaking her head.

Ianto sighed. _That's always the problem it seems…_ "I know I'm not married to your father yet but I'd like to say something, if you don't mind… It might not be something you want to hear."

Alice looked at him and nodded.

"I can always tell when Jack is going to visit you and Steven. He steals my hair gel and changes his shirts four times. Having both of you in his life… in our lives would mean a lot to us," Ianto said, crossing his arms. "But I'll be honest with you, Alice, you need to either piss or get off the pot about it because when you decide you want him in your life and then shut him back out it hurts him and that is very fucking much my business. Either you want him in your life, or you don't and I am done watching what this two step of yours is does to him. I know he's tried to introduce us on at least three separate occasions. When you cancelled, he was devastated and then I'm guessing that he stopped asking."

"You and Auntie Mei-Mei defending him, how sweet," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

Now, he saw what Miranda meant by petulant. He couldn't believe this woman was older than him. Ianto was realising the core of the problem. Alice had no respect for her father. He didn't bother keeping the anger out of his voice this time. "I want you to think about what you just said because your aunt and I are defending your father for a reason. Yes, we love him but the whole team loves him. Every one of us would follow your father to our deaths, without question. You say your mother told you to judge someone's character by their company? I want you to think about the sort of man who engenders that kind of loyalty and devotion from people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the greater good and then ask yourself what sort of man your think your father is."

Ianto turned on his heel and started walking back towards the Tourist Office wondering and hoping that he hadn't made the whole situation worse.


	4. Chapter 4

The two men had drawn straws to see which one of them would walk up the aisle. Ianto had drawn the short straw to stand at the altar so Jack would be walking down the aisle. He was hidden away in the vicar's office, out of sight so Ianto was greeting their guests outside the church door with Miranda beside him. There quite a bit more than Jack and Ianto had specifically invited. No one had any idea how but a number of UNIT and government officials had caught wind of the ceremony and many were here to wish the happy Torchwood couple well. Quite a few of those guests had travelled great distances.

Miranda leaned into the doorway and smiled. Kate Stewart was sitting in one of the pews chatting eagerly with Ethan Donovan who had made the journey all the way from America. A number of UNIT officers were scattered about along with politicians and officials from Downing Street, Whitehall and Parliament. Miranda tried not to think about the upheaval a single well placed bomb would cause today. _Earth would be a far more dangerous place…_

The most surprising guest was His Royal Highness, Prince Harry. When their liaison at the Palace had said someone was being sent in Her Majesty's place, they'd thought it would be their liaison or some other bureaucrat, not a member of the Royal Family. Miranda couldn't help but laugh softly when she saw Henry walk over to the young prince and introduce himself. She took her fob watch out of her pocket. She was walking Jack down the aisle, Ianto had insisted upon it.

"It's nearly time, Ifan," Miranda said.

"She didn't come," Ianto said with a sigh.

"Neither here nor there, my friend," Miranda said, also with a sigh. She shook off the disappointment and asked, "What made you chose this church?"

"Hmm? Oh, Jack said it was pretty inside," Ianto said with a shrug. "It didn't much matter to me."

"He didn't tell you?" Miranda asked, eyes a bit wide.

"Tell me what, Mandy?" Ianto asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," she said with a smile. She nodded at the building behind them. "This is the church Jack and I got married in."

"You're taking the piss?!" Ianto gasped, looking at the brick building.

Miranda shook her head and started to laugh. "No. It used to be a Catholic Church. He's waited in that bloody room twice now!"

"That's why he was so bloody cross when Gwen told him he had to wait out of sight so we couldn't see each other!" Ianto exclaimed.

"You're not angry, are you?" Miranda asked.

"No? Why would I be?" Ianto asked, a grin spreading across his face. "I think it's brilliant."

He leaned forward, adjusting the chain around her diamond necklace, a gift he'd bought for her months ago. He kissed her on the cheek. Miranda smiled and patted her friend on the shoulder. A few more late guests were arriving. "I'm going to check on Jack."

She made her way through the church to the vicar's office, waving and stopping to say hello to a few people. One stop she made was to say hello to Ethan Donovan and to make a polite inquiry about how long he was staying in Cardiff and where. He'd given her a devilish grin and told her that he was leaving tomorrow morning for London and then whispered his hotel and room number in her ear. After giving him a quick peck on the cheek and a wink, she continued to walk through the church to the vicar's office and knocked on the door lightly. "Jack? You all right in there?"

When there was no answer, Miranda opened the door and stepped inside. Jack was pacing back and forth, an exasperated look on his face.

"Jack! By the Gods, calm down!" she said, grabbing his arm.

"What am I doing here, Will?" he asked, rubbing his sweaty palms together. "What did I ever do to deserve him? He's too good for me…"

He shook her off and resumed his pacing.

"Goddess below, Jack! Were you this bloody nervous when we got married?" Miranda asked.

Jack's nervous expression took on a sheepish edge.

"You were!" Miranda said with a laugh.

"Not helping here, Will!" Jack said, waving his arm around. He continued to pace… and gasp for air. He was starting to hyperventilate!

"Jack! Jack! Calm down! Just breath," Miranda said. She seized him by the arm and then bent him at the waist, planting his hands on his knees. She rubbed small circles on his back. "That's it… Slowly, in and out…"

"He's not nervous at all is he?" Jack said, trying to slow his breathing.

"He's quite nervous but he's coping better than you are," Miranda said with a smile.

There was a small knock at the door and Jack shouted without lifting his head, "Occupied!"

"Dad?"

Jack blanched. "Alice?" He bolted for the door and threw it open. "Oh Gods… Alice…" Before Alice could protest, Jack hugged her tightly. He kissed the top of her head. "Honey, what are you doing here? I told Ianto not to bother you!"

Miranda smiled at the sight and then covertly snapped a picture with her phone. She let the two of them embrace for a few minutes and then checked her fob watch. Jack still hadn't let go of his daughter. She put her hand on Jack's shoulder. "I hate to break this beautiful scene up but you're nearly late, Jack."

"Uncle Jack?"

"Hey, soldier!" Jack let go of Alice and swept Steven into his arms.

"Oi, leave off, Uncle Jack!" Steven protested. A sour look crossed the boy's face. "Mum said you almost didn't invite us. Why not?"

Jack put his hand on Steven's shoulder. "It's complicated, Steven."

"Why do you always say that?" he whinged. "Did you think Mum and I'd have a problem with your boyfriend? Because I don't care, Uncle Jack! I'll have at anyone who does!"

"Hey, easy there," Jack said, putting his hands on Steven's shoulders. "Look at you? You're getting so big… You want to be a good man and stand up with me, soldier?"

"I don't think-" Alice started but Steven stopped her.

"Brilliant!" he whirled, his voice cracking a bit with the excitement. "Can I, Mum? Please?"

"Yeah, Mum, can he?" Jack asked. He grinned broadly at Alice over Steven's shoulder.

Alice looked from her father and then to her son and then back again. "I suppose-"

"Brilliant!" Steven shouted, he started digging in Jack's pockets. "Where's the bloody ring?"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Jack said, reaching into his trouser pocket. He handed the box to Steven. "I'm trusting you. Take good care of that!"

"I promise, Uncle Jack!" Steven said and bolted from the room.

"Always the hero, aren't you, Dad?" Alice snipped, with a roll of her eyes.

Miranda cleared her throat and glared at Alice. "Jack? We should be going. There's a space for you in the first row with the team, Alice."

Jack held his arm out to his daughter. "Walk me down, honey. Please?"

"I'm not really dressed-"

"You look beautiful, honey," Jack said, waving his arm at her again. "You always look so beautiful."

With a smile, Alice accepted her father's arm. Miranda's heart warmed at the sight. Jack would finally get to walk down the aisle with his daughter. She snapped another picture with her phone and received an identical glare from both.

"It is a good day," Miranda said simply. "C'mon, Jack. Let's get you married."


	5. Chapter 5

"It's mad in there," Alice said as she stepped out the restaurant door.

"A bit," Miranda said with a smile. She took a small drag off of her cigarette. "You've met everyone?"

"All the proper lies have been told, Auntie," Alice said a bit sarcastic.

"They are more for the benefit of Ianto's family than anyone else. He hasn't decided what he wishes to tell them, if anything," Miranda said, taking another drag. "Where's Steven?"

"With Henry. Steven likes him," Alice said, rolling her eyes a bit. The last thing she wanted was for her son to form attachments to people who would cause more questions… more immortals. "When did you start smoking, Auntie?"

"1860," she said with a wink and Alice rolled her eyes.

The two women stood in silence for a few moments, Miranda smoking her cigarette slowly.

"I hope Ianto knows what he's getting himself into," Alice said with a nervous laugh. "Then again after the dressing down he gave me, I hope Dad knows what _he's_ getting into."

Now that got Miranda's attention. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted to meet him so I stopped by the Tourist Office on my day off," she said, shifting nervously. "We had a bit of a chat. It started out friendly enough but he took the gloves off and told me that I was breaking Dad's heart. He said I'd better decide, one way or the other, whether I wanted Dad in my life." She shook her head. "And after what you'd said to me… I did a lot of thinking and you were right, Auntie. I never really gave Dad a chance. So here I am."

"I'm glad you're here, Alice," Miranda said, smiling at the other woman fondly.

"Would you be surprised if I said I'm glad I came?"

"Extremely," Miranda laughed. She jerked her head at the restaurant window. "It meant the world to him."

"Can I ask you something, Auntie?"

Miranda nodded, taking another drag off the cigarette. She moved to Alice's other side as the wind changed.

"Were you ever sleeping with Dad?" Alice asked.

Miranda shook her head, glad to finally see Alice looking at things for herself. "Never when he was with your mother. Your father is loyal to a fault, Alice. If your mother wanted fidelity from him, he would have given it to her."

"She said you and Dad had a past," Alice asked, fishing.

Miranda stood there, smoking a bit more. She wondered how much she should reveal. This wasn't just her secret, it was also Jack's but she didn't want to repay Alice's new open mind with the evasiveness that had closed it in the first place.

"I met your father in late summer, 1919. He thought me the damsel in distress," she said with a wry smile. "It was something of a whirlwind romance. We were married in June the following year."

"So you're divorced," Alice said, nodding.

"Not precisely but I did leave him… under poor circumstances," Miranda said, shifting a bit.

"What happened?"

"We told each other too many lies and not enough truth. We didn't try hard enough. We didn't trust each other enough… and so many other things."

"Is it a gift that you and Dad have to never really answer a question?" Alice asked, shaking her head.

"It wasn't any one thing that ruined your father and I, Alice - the way it is with any failed marriage," Miranda pointed out. "In fact, I think we were doomed from the beginning. The fire that burns brighter dies out quicker. Jack and I are too similar. We have the same faults. It has taken us decades to form the friendship that we now share and things can still be… explosive."

Alice couldn't tell if the last word was a double entendre or not. The restaurant door opened, halting their conversation as Tom stepped out. Henry's son was visiting from America. He'd felt a bit as if he were gatecrashing but Ianto and Jack had insisted he attend. Miranda watched him reach into his back pocket and step out of view. He shook the squashed pack of cigarettes and then swore. Without looking up he said, "Hey, Auntie? Can I bum one off of you… oh…" Tom trailed off as he noticed Alice was standing outside.

"I will not indulge your habit, Thomas. Your father would have my head, quite literally," Miranda scolded. Knowing that Tom likely knew more than he should, she added, "And you may speak freely in front of Alice."

Tom looked from Miranda to Alice and Alice gave him a nervous smile. Miranda watched a dreamy sort of look come across Tom's face as he held out his hand. "We haven't met yet. I guess I can introduce myself the right way then. I'm Tom Blount. Uh… Henry's my father."

Alice got a confused look over her face and looked at Miranda.

"Adopted," Miranda supplied.

"Oh. I'm Alice Carter," she said, shaking Tom's hand. Then she said, almost as if she were admitting to a crime, "I'm Jack's… daughter."

Tom looked confused for a moment and then as the pieces slipped together in his mind. His face lit up and he smiled broadly. "Oh, hey! It's great to meet you! Thought I was the only person in the world with an immortal parent. Now there's a mindfuck for you."

He immediately looked embarrassed by his crass language and Miranda smiled fondly at the two of them as they chatted and flirted. She probably should've just put out her cigarette and return inside but the two of them were tuning out her presence and she was too busy eavesdropping. She'd edged away as not to intrude especially when the conversation took a poor turn.

Alice laughed. "We should form our own support group." She then grimaced a bit. "At least your father didn't just marry someone younger than you."

"My old man prefers men in their forties," Tom said with an eye roll. "When I was a kid myself, that meant men older than me. Now, _I'm_ staring down the barrel at forty! Soon, I'll be staring down the barrel at _fifty_ and then, it'll mean men younger than me. Either way, it messes with you. You think it'd be any better if Ianto was sixty?"

Alice chuckled. "I suppose not."

"All that immortal shit doesn't make for stable relationships," Tom pointed out. "Pop tried to hide it a lot from me when I was a kid but before Joe? That man should've put a revolving door on his bedroom."

Alice dissolved into fits of giggles. Henry opened the restaurant door and Tom immediately silenced his own laughter.

"Ah, Alice, there you are. Your son is looking for you," he said, brightly and then he caught sight of the pack of cigarette's in his son's hand. He frowned and asked, sternly, "Are you smoking, young man?"

"No! Pop! I swear!" he denied, holding up both his hands. He even opened the pack, to show it was empty.

Alice couldn't help but laugh. Henry looked to be less than half Tom's age, barely out of his teens. Yet, he'd reduced Tom to a scolded child in seconds. Henry eye'd his son suspiciously.

Alice turned, smiling. "It was lovely to meet you, Tom. I'll see you later, Auntie."

"Yeah… yeah, you too," he said, giving her a crooked smile. He followed Alice with his eyes as she went back into the restaurant. Henry held the door open for her, politely. Tom's eyes followed Alice as she walked over to where Steven was talking to Ianto.

"You will stop ogling Jack's daughter, young man," Henry said, sharply, pointing his finger at his son. Shaking his head, he turned and went back inside.

Tom sighed, watching Alice through the window. "Way the fuck out of my league anyway…"

"I wouldn't say that, Thomas."

Tom smiled at her. "It's good to see you again, Auntie. I've missed you. What's it been? Seven? Eight years now?"

"Something like that," she said, sadly. "I hope you will be visiting Wales more often now that your father is here."

"I've wanted to come out and visit you too but I know you're busy all the time with all that Torchwood… err… whatever it is you do," he said with a shrug.

Miranda raised her eyebrow at him. "Thomas."

"Listen, I know I'm not supposed to know nothing-"

"Anything," she corrected.

"_Anything_… but I've overheard enough of Joe and Pop's conversations over the past week to put two and two together," Tom said with a shrug. "Torchwood. What you and Pop are… Ianto… Jack? I'm not stupid, Auntie, and I'm not fucking stupid enough to say nothing to no one."

She opened her mouth to correct him again and he said, "To say anything to anyone. Happy?"

Miranda held out her pack of cigarettes out to Tom.

As he took one of the cigarettes, he said, "Pop'll tear you a new one for doing this."

Miranda held the lighter up, igniting it.

"What your father doesn't know won't hurt him," Miranda said with a smile.

Tom puffed on the cigarette to get it lit. He took a deep drag and laughed. He waved it at her. "You know, you always were the 'fun parent'."

"I am _not_ your mother, Thomas," Miranda warned.

"No, not technically but you're the closest thing I got and that's how I think of you," Tom said, seriously. "Didn't you get the flowers?"

Miranda nodded. Every American Mother's day, she received a large bouquet of flowers from Tom. She took another drag off her own cigarette and blew the smoke out through her nose to hide the tears stinging her eyes. This year's bouquet had been spectacular and had included a small box of chocolate covered mochi. She'd pressed several of the flowers, the same way she did every year.

"Pop, he's always saying he'll pay for me to see him whenever I want. I'm always saying no cos I don't want to be taking money from my old man like I'm some fucking kid but… I want to see him more. I want to see you more. I know we talk all the time but it isn't the same," he said, taking a deep drag off his cigarette. He looked at her and smiled, affectionately, "You and him are all I got, Ma."

Whenever he was a kid, Miranda never allowed him to call her that. Ever. This was the first time he'd tried since he was a little boy. Now, Tom saw another angry scolding coming his way and stopped it before it started.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Ma. You know, it ain't going to matter one fucking bit what I call you. When I go, you're still going to feel like you lost another son because you're my mother whether you want to admit it or not," Tom said. He jerked his head towards the restaurant. "You're the reason I got my head out of my ass and started talking to him again. You held me when I was sick, looked for monsters under my bed and taught me how to throw a decent punch. You're the reason I became a cop. So will you stop dicking around with the fucking semantics?"

"In that case, _son_," Miranda said, emphasizing the last word. She grabbed the cigarette she gave him and broke it in half. "You will do your father and I a favour and cease this unhealthy habit and you will watch your language."

"Great I've created a monster," Tom said with a laugh. He put his arm across her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Ma."

"I love you too, my boy."

The restaurant door opened. It was Henry again. "Ah, perhaps the two of you shall grace us with your presence? You're both being rude. Ianto and Jack are about to cut the cake and I believe you wanted to say a few words, Mao-Lin."

"I did, indeed, your grace," Miranda said, smiling.

"I'll see you inside, Ma." Tom kissed Miranda on the check again and walked back inside, also kissing his father on the cheek as he passed. He was happy. "Love you, Pop."

Henry looked at Miranda with surprise. "You have finally relented?"

Miranda nodded. She put her arm around Henry's shoulders, turning him to look at Tom. Tom put his hands on Steven's shoulders and began speaking with the young man in an animated fashion, laughing and joking. "I think we did well."

"Yes. Yes, I believe we did," Henry said with a sad smile. "I hope you are not encouraging him with regards to Jack's daughter, Mao-Lin."

"Why would I do that, my Lord Richmond?" she said with a mischievous smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Martha sat down next to Miranda, who was pushing the remnants of her cake around her plate. Miranda was glad this Torchwood wedding had gone off without a hitch. To her utter surprise, that morning a small team from UNIT had shown up and chased the Torchwood team out of the Hub for the wedding, with compliments of Colonel Ashline. Miranda had left them with specific instructions on what sort of situations would require interruption, but nothing had come up and, as the evening was coming to a close, she breathed a sigh of relief. Tomorrow morning, the UNIT team would depart and Torchwood, minus its captain and archivist, would settle back to normal. Mickey and Martha would be staying on until Jack and Ianto returned to help ease the load. It was their wedding gift to ensure that neither Torchwood operative worried during their holiday or, at least, worried as little as possible.

"I'm surprised they haven't made an exit yet," Martha said nodding towards Jack and Ianto who were both laughing along with Mickey.

"You and me both," Miranda said with a laugh. "I don't think their flight is until morning."

"Where's the honeymoon?" Martha asked.

Miranda grinned after making certain that Ianto was not looking in their direction at all, she pointed at the ceiling. "It's a surprise. Jack checked with me first to make sure Ifan would have a heart attack."

"Wait… What? You don't mean…" Martha uncrossed her legs and sat forward in her chair. "How? Are they going with the Doctor?"

Miranda shook her head and dropped her voice to a near whisper. "Apparently ringed planets are big tourist attractions and our solar system having two is quite unique."

"You're joking?!" Martha gasped.

Miranda shook her head. "According to Jack there's an interstellar cruise liner that makes its way through the system every other Earth month."

"How did Jack arrange all this?" Martha couldn't believe her ears.

"A gross misuse of Torchwood resources," Miranda said with a sly smile. "There's a communications device in the archive. There are also a number of valuable items and substances he used as payment. One hundred years of service? I think it was the least Torchwood could do for him. The cruise liner will be stopping to pick them up in the morning and dropping them off in just over two weeks. I've heard it's roughly an Earth day in orbit around each planet, except Mercury. Jack showed the me the itinerary. They'll visit Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune with the last stop being Venus."

"What? No Mercury or Pluto?" Martha joked.

"Pluto's little more than an asteroid and Mercury is too close to the sun," Miranda supplied. She smiled at them fondly. Jack did love the grand gestures. Ianto was in for an experience of a lifetime. She grinned. "I don't know if Jack has wasted his efforts or not. I wonder if the two of them will leave their bedroom long enough to enjoy the solar system."

Martha laughed, nearly snorting her drink through her nose. "Point."

"I think he's waiting for that Doctor of yours to pop round."

"Jack did asked me to ring and invite him. I got the answer phone."

Miranda almost choked on her water. "The Doctor has an answer phone?"

"I left a message," Martha chuckled. "If he decides to pop round, he might not turn up properly. Horrible timing, the Doctor has. He'll probably show up in a year and think he's right on time."

Miranda was about to open her mouth to make some joke about a Time Lord having bad timing when a whooshing noise began fading in and out.

"I don't believe it!" Martha cried and locked eyes with Jack and Mickey. The three of them bolted for the restaurant door leaving a room full of confused wedding guests. Miranda looked at Ianto and shrugged. Ianto mouthed 'the Doctor' at her and then jerked his head towards the door. There was a nervousness in Ianto's face mixed with worry and fear. Miranda stood up, following the three former companions out into the Plass.

She smiled at the sight of the old police box. They'd once filled the streets but they were long gone now. Jack, Mickey and Martha seemed to be making joyful introductions. There was a tall red-headed woman and a thin long faced man standing next to her. They must be the Doctor's current companions. Miranda recognised the Doctor immediately even though she'd never seen him before. He looked like an Oxford professor in his bow tie and tweed jacket but even with the joyful smile on his face the Time Lord made Miranda's skin crawl. He had his hand clapped on Jack's shoulder and was smiling broadly, shaking his hand in congratulations. Despite the jovial face, the man's eyes were old and radiated a smoldering power, almost god-like. Those eyes settled on her and she saw something else smolder in them - anger and disappointment. Miranda felt naked, stripped bare beneath the Time Lord's gaze.

She'd heard about the Doctor, of course. She was Torchwood and the Doctor was Torchwood Enemy Number One. The way Jack talked about him, you hardly thought he'd deserved such a title, but Miranda could see why now. He saw everything - all that is, all that was, and all that could ever be. When he looked at her, he didn't see Doctor Miranda Ryan, Torchwood medic. He saw Yi Mei-Xiu, the Whore of Babylon. It was almost as if his gaze was forcing the memories of thousands of years ago to rise up in her mind. She heard the screams and wails of the Horsemen's victims - her victims - long turned to dust. His eyes branded the scarlet letter onto her chest as if with a white hot iron. Miranda swallowed nervously, backing into the restaurant.

Miranda had thought that Jack and Ianto would be the ones making a discrete exit. Instead, she collected her coat as unobtrusively as possible, folding it over her arm. She avoided the group as they entered the restaurant, Jack eagerly dragging the Doctor towards Ianto. Miranda lingered, watching as everyone settled from the arrival of the new guests. She looked around the room.

Henry and Fish were feeding each other cake, gazing into each other's eyes, scarcely aware of the new comers. The Doctor was standing in a huddle with his companions, current and former, all of them trying to keep the Doctor from saying something outlandish that Ianto's family would find mental. Ianto was chatting with the Doctor, looked far less nervous and worried than before. Alice and Tom were flirting over a bottle of wine. Steven was sitting next to David and Mica, playing some game on his phone, looking at Amy out of the corner of his eye. Gwen was giggling and laughing with Rhiannon while Rhys and Johnny were toasting a pint together. Miranda looked at them all, smiling softly as her eyes fell on each person. She felt very much on the outside of this group. It was when the Doctor caught her gaze again that Miranda felt the most lonely. The look he threw her was a simmering stew of barely restrained rage, profound disappointment and white hot accusation.

Miranda couldn't hold his gaze for more than a few seconds. Her eyes were downcast as she dropped a deep bow at the Time Lord. Then she turned and walked for the restaurant door - no longer feeling required nor welcome. She looked over her shoulder before the door shut, seeing Ianto and Jack kissing while everyone clapped and whooped. Once she was on the street, she walked towards the hotel Donovan had whispered in her ear earlier, burdened and alone.


End file.
